Cover Story
20 awesome concerts coming to Orlando
The 2015 fall concert forecast kicks off mercifully gusty, with blasts from the past in the form of comeback tours featuring pop legends like Janet Jackson and Billy Idol. From there, a heavy front moves in as Motörhead and Helmet roll through town. But it’s not all comebacks (hello, D’Angelo!) and anniversaries (we meet again,…
Orlando Ballet School to twist and turn at Artlando, Sept. 26
Watch members of the Orlando Ballet school leap and pirouette at Artlando, Orlando Weekly’s all-day outdoor art and cultural festival at Loch Haven Park on Sept. 26. This classically trained ballet company has been a fixture in town since 2001, but can trace its roots as far back as 1974, when it was founded by 12…
Ibex Puppetry brings otherworldly creatures to life at Artlando, Sept. 26
Do you love the Muppets? Well then, you’ll love the creatures of Ibex Puppetry, a local troupe founded by Heather Henson, daughter of Muppets founder Jim Henson. They’ll be breathing life into their handmade creations from 1 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. at Artlando, Orlando Weekly’s all-day outdoor art and cultural festival at Loch Haven Park on…
2nd Sight Dance Company will bring unique routine to Artlando, Sept. 26
If you hate standing idly by as dancers perform, then you should probably go on a date with the 2nd Sight Dance Company. And that date should be at this year’s Artlando, Orlando Weekly’s all-day outdoor art and cultural festival at Loch Haven Park on Sept. 26. The dance company prides itself on embracing technology to make…
Orlando-based Liberty Counsel representing Kentucky clerk who won’t issue marriage licenses to gay couples
You’ve surely heard by now of the Kentucky clerk, Kim Davis, who has refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples because she was “acting on God’s authority.” Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling that marriage between same-sex couples is now legal in every state, Davis won’t budge. Rather than issue a marriage license to any…
State Attorney’s Office will not press sexual assault charges on former UCF student
The Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office will not press charges against the former University of Central Florida student who was accused of sexually assaulting another student at the Sigma Nu fraternity house and later the student’s dorm. The accused student is also the same man who was recorded in a viral video saying, “Let’s rape some…
Argument over whether to put solar choice question on 2016 ballot goes to court
Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente, more than once Tuesday, advised lawyers that arguments about a proposed constitutional amendment to expand the use of solar energy leaned toward campaign rhetoric rather than key legal issues. Still, when justices finished hearing arguments about ballot language proposed by the group Floridians for Solar Choice, supporters and opponents…
Florida community colleges are some of the best in nation, study says
Florida was recently ranked by Thrillest as the absolute worst state in the nation, but at least we have some of the best community colleges. According to a study by WalletHub, Florida ranked No. 5 on a list of the nation’s best community college systems. Only Mississippi (No. 1), North Dakota (No. 2), Wyoming (No. 3) and Washington…
Court rules that Florida can use controversial lethal-injection drug in Jerry Correll case
In early July, we wrote about how the U.S. Supreme Court had cleared the way for states to use midazolam, a controversial lethal-injection drug that has been linked to cases in which prisoners being executed may not have been sufficiently sedated during the process. The drug, which was first used in Florida, has been part of…
A proposed Florida bill will allow people to smash car windows to free pets
A new bill was proposed Monday, Sept. 1, that would allow people to smash the window of a hot car if a pet owner left a dog or cat inside. Sen. Dorothy Hukill, of Port Orange, filed the Protecting Animal Welfare and Safety act or “P.A.W.S. act., which essentially allows first responders, animal control officers,…
Violectric will rock the house at Artlando, Sept. 26
Short skirts, ripped tees, dyed hair and rocking tunes are in store for all those who feast their eyes on Violectric, the string instrument collective based out of Windermere, Fla. Attendees at this year’s Artlando, Orlando Weekly’s all-day outdoor art and cultural festival at Loch Haven Park on Sept. 26, will get the chance to see…
Earth becomes the center of the drone universe this Wednesday at Will’s Pub
Ears have been ringing for weeks in anticipation of Earth’s descent into Orlando. Their distinct heavy pull leveraged expansive drone and psych experimentations in the ’90s to echo the dissonance and doom of the cosmic ether. We were all ethereally floating through life without an ear bent to acknowledge it when Earth disbanded, but guitarist…
After seven years in business, Cress Restaurant launches new dual concept
After seven fruitful years, Cress Restaurant’s Hari and Jenneffer Pulapaka felt the collective itch to change things up at their highly lauded DeLand restaurant. This past Saturday, that itch was proverbially scratched when the Pulapakas launched the restaurant’s new “dual” concept of “Taste Cress” and “Counter Cress” – partly to enhance the dining experience for…
Take a free guided tour of the art in the Alfond Inn during happy hour this Wednesday
In the eternal quest to gorge your eyes with beauty while sticking to a diet budget-wise, the monthly free tours of the Alfond Inn’s collection of contemporary art are a vital new activity. You can wander in and look at the art on your own any time, of course – donated by Rollins alums Barbara…
Songwriter Christopher Paul Stelling discusses his Orlando roots and his Anti Records debut
CHRISTOPHER PAUL STELLING with Henry Toland, Austin Miller | 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8 | Will’s Pub, 1042 N. Mills Ave. | willspub.org | $7 Christopher Paul Stelling is the latest Central Florida musician to arrive nationally. Now on Anti Records, the same boutique label that vaulted venerated Orlando hip-hop group Solillaquists of Sound in 2009,…
Rock Hard Revue will close out the night at Artlando, Sept. 26
How else do you finish a day of cultural awareness and art exploration? With a sweaty, sexy and sinful performance by the men of Rock Hard Revue, naturally. Come see the male performers take it all off at this year’s Artlando, Orlando Weekly’s all-day outdoor art and cultural festival at Loch Haven Park on Sept. 26.…
A man ‘fixated’ on a female wrestler was shot at the WWE performance center today
A man accused of being “fixated” on a female wrestler was shot at the WWE Performance Center in Azalea Park, Monday afternoon, August 31. According to WFTV, two nearby plain-clothes deputies responded to a trespassing call at the facility, which is near Colonial Drive and Forsyth Road, at around 1:30 p.m. Orange County Sheriff Jerry…
Mayor Buddy Dyer makes cameo in promo for Monty Python theater production
The Orlando Shakespeare Theater dropped a local celebrity-studded video Saturday, Aug. 29. To promote their production of Monty Python’s Spamalot, a parody of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the actors of Orlando Shakespeare Theater galavanted around, singing in costume with hordes of people. The video kicks off with Mayor Buddy Dyer offering the overly depressed King…
A WWII-era grenade was found and detonated along a busy intersection in Sarasota
Sarasota police had to send in a robot to dispose of a World War II-era hand grenade found near a busy highway intersection, Friday afternoon, August 28. According to the Herald Tribune, the explosive device was at the intersection of Fruitvale Road and Pompano Road. The police robot safely detonated the grenade at around…
Rising noise-rock star Whores mixes it up with the Ludes, Junior Bruce, Pilgrimage (Will’s Pub)
THIS LITTLE UNDERGROUND So let me get this straight here. The latest show booked by Non-Prophet Organization (Aug. 28, Will’s Pub) was an obviously eclectic bill and you guys weren’t confused, still turned out in significant numbers and were in full embrace of it? What the? Who are you? Nice to meet you. I’ve been…
Pasco County gamer gets ‘pranked’ with real SWAT team during live stream
Marcus Eikenberry, a Pasco County resident and well-known gamer, was totally PWNED while live streaming Eve Online, August 27. Eikenberry was playing the MMORPG and broadcasting live on his YouTube channel, when he heard a loud noise coming from the other room. “Hold on guys, I’m being swatted,” Eikenberry told his live audience. “Swatting” is…
Hotto Potto turns 3 today, celebrates with $3 menu items
We’ve written a couple of love letters to Hotto Potto in the past, mostly praising their position as top-class late-night munchies in a town where there’s a serious dearth of post-9 p.m. comestibles. Today, the hot pot outpost turns three years old, and they’re celebrating by making every single menu item just $3. Literally, everything.…
Orange County teacher says she was fired for dating a black man
A former math teacher at Edgewater High School filed a lawsuit against Orange County Public Schools last week alleging she was fired in 2013 because she was at the time, dating a black man. The lawsuit says the school’s administrators treated Audrey Dudek, who is white, differently because she associated with non-white staff members and…
Tell the city what you think: How should Orlando commemorate Tinker Field?
In March, after a protracted debate about the fate of the historic Tinker Field where Martin Luther King Jr. made his one and only appearance in Orlando in 1964, the city of Orlando scrapped plans to completely demolish the field to make way for renovation of the Citrus Bowl. It opted, instead, to only demolish some…
Starting Sept. 1, you can fly direct to Dubai from Orlando
The Dubai-based Emirates Airlines will offer direct flights to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates from Orlando starting Sept. 1. The airline, which is the largest in the Middle East, is owned by the Emirates Group, a company that is in turn owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates (although on the website,…
Falcon’s Creative is about to have the coolest office in Orlando
The coolest workspace in Orlando competition is about to heat up with a local firm’s new office. Falcon’s Creative Group, a local amusement industry creative firm, has announced plans to expand its MetroWest office. The new expansion will mean not only more office space for its ever increasing media department (#Screenz) but it will also…
Disney World wants you to tweet in your complaints
With nearly 42 square miles of rides and attractions, Walt Disney World can be quite overwhelming for many guests. After successfully using Twitter to assist guests at Disneyland for a number of years, Guest Services at Walt Disney World recently launched a new Twitter account designed to help assist guests with questions, basic information, and…
Florida Lottery Secretary resigns after investigation into travel bills
Florida Lottery Secretary Cynthia O’Connell resigned Friday after a story by POLITICO Florida showed she took nine weeks of vacation as her agency was under investigation in 2014 for a fraud scandal and was being audited. The investigation showed O’Connell racked up almost $30,000 in travel bills, of which $20,899 was paid by taxpayers.…
The Shoppes of College Park bring local artisans to the forefront
Jim and Silvia Lakey are no strangers to the local business scene – they own Gallery on the Edge, they have a Cuban café next door in the works, they have plans for a new farmers market for College Park, and they launch their newest venture, The Shoppes of College Park, this weekend. Jim, originally…
Gov. Rick Scott declares State of Emergency, city of Orlando giving away sandbags in prep for Tropical Storm Erika
Today Gov. Rick Scott declared a State of Emergency in Florida in preparation for Tropical Storm Erika, which is still aiming for Florida. As of now, it looks like it will remain a tropical storm, rather than a full-fledged hurricane, but current forecasts show that if it does hit Florida, it’s going to travel straight…
Cat Cafe to open in Clermont at Cagan Crossings
(Somebody alert the alliteration authorities!) Based on the photo at right, plans are moving forward for the proposed Orlando Cat Café to open at the Cagan Crossings shopping center in Clermont, meaning crazy cat people all over Orlando are Google Maps-ing how to get there right now. If the idea of a cat café is…
Phantasmagoria will be performing at Artlando, Sept. 26
Everyone loves a good story told with puppets, dance, staged combat and Victorian-style costumes, right? Phantasmagoria, “Orlando’s original steampunk storytelling troupe,” will be performing at this year’s Artlando, Orlando Weekly’s all-day outdoor arts and culture competition and festival at Loch Haven Park, Sept. 26. If you’re a visual or performing artist and would like to…
Winter Park tapas bar Mi Tomatina to close Aug. 31
Mi Tomatina and BARcelona, the Hannibal Square paella and tapas bar, announced today that they are closing as of Aug. 31. This gives you one more weekend to enjoy their hongos rellenos (portobello mushroom caps stuffed with Serrano ham and crowned with shaved manchego), their Spanish-style mac & cheese (a 2103 Best of Orlando Food…
UCF’s John Hitt and Valencia’s Sandy Shugart named ‘innovative’ college presidents
Forward-thinking and progressive curriculum is the name of the game for University of Central Florida’s John Hitt and Valencia’s Sandy Shugart. Washington Monthly recently ranked Hitt and Shugart among the top 10 most innovative college presidents in 2015. While not immediately acknowledged for their contributions, college presidents are hugely instrumental in the success of an institution. It’s the stuff that…
Charges dropped for Jacksonville man arrested for shredding National Anthem too hard
It would appear Jacksonville, Florida, resident and local guitar hero Lane Pittman fought for the right to party and won. Legal Insurrection is reporting that the State’s Attorney’s office has decided to not press charges on Pittman, who rocked an impromptu performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” so hard cops were forced to arrest him. …
According to Tinder, FSU either has the most appealing women or the thirstiest bros
Tinder, the dating app where users connect for “Netflix and chill,” has recently released its list of college campuses whose students are the “Most Swiped Right.” According to the data, Florida State University took top honors for most swiped women between ages 18-23. Now, this can only mean two things, either the female student population…
Controversial comic Gallagher headlines the Joke’s on You Comedy Tour at the Plaza Live
Comedy doesn’t always have to be clever. Back in the ’80s, you could make millions of dollars by smashing fruit onstage with a sledgehammer, which is exactly what Gallagher did. After fading into obscurity, Gallagher returned with a crazy-eyed vengeance in the early 2010s, writing material that catered to racists, homophobes and right-wing Obama-haters. After…
Stop by Gods & Monsters to ogle super-collectors’ Star Wars toy collections
If you’re excited about all of the Star Wars news flying around on a near weekly schedule lately – the new movies, the Disney park, the comics from Marvel – you may want to dig all of your old action figures out from the back of the closet and visit this swap meet. The Star…
Progressive house and trance producer-DJ Markus Schulz stops in to Gilt on Saturday
Miami landed influential German-born DJ Markus Schulz for the long haul, and he’s been posted up there with his popular “Global DJ Broadcast” radio show informing millions of progressive trance and house fans for more than a decade. Where the EDM world can be burdened by slick trends, Schulz has proven a mainstay, worshipped worldwide…
Buzz Aldrin links with Florida Institute of Technology to develop a ‘master plan’ for colonizing Mars
Buzz Aldrin, a man who will stop at nothing until our asses are on Mars, discussed his master plan Thursday, August 27, for getting humans to the Red Planet within the next 25 years. The second man to walk on the moon’s surface took part in a signing ceremony for the Buzz Aldrin Space Institute,…
Best! Job! Ever! Acro-Cats seek tour assistant to travel cross-country with cat circus
For the right person, this is a once-in-a-lifetime dream job opportunity. In this year’s Best of Orlando one of our Writers’ Picks (written by a writer who is not me — I swear) was awarded to the Acro-Cats, or as we called it, “Best! Show!! Ever!!!” and now, as if a genie has granted that…
Relive your best ’80s prom memories at the Orchid Garden this weekend
Ever want to relive all the bad parts of the ’80s, like teased hair and unnecessary angst, with the good parts of now, like being an adult who can purchase alcohol? You can do all that and help a charity at Mel’s Bad Girls Club’s ninth annual prom, which has a, like, totally ’80s theme…
Pick up classy prints of fine art at Snap’s Print Day this Saturday
Although Snap! Orlando has always been acquisition-friendly, even from their beginnings as an annual exposition of fine art photography, today marks their first community art sale. Even those who don’t style themselves serious collectors can get in on the one-day-only action by shopping for limited-edition prints – most priced between $50 and $300 – by…
Universal Orlando finally releases all the details of Halloween Horror Nights 25
Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights is celebrating its 25th year of terror, and it looks like they’ve finally released all the details on this year’s line-up. In terms of haunted houses, there’s a nice blend of familiar faces and a few new themes added to the mix. Here’s what to expect: · The return of the fan-favorite…
An FSU grad is selling her diploma on eBay for $50,000
After about the 300th time of uploading your resume for a job application and then immediately being asked to input your work history, you start to think, ‘Were those $200,000 in student loans worth it?’ A Florida State University college graduate has apparently found the answer to our problems by selling her college diploma, which…
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd promises to protect reporters – even the ones who don’t say nice things about him
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, who never met a national story he couldn’t find a way to insert himself into, held a press conference yesterday at which he addressed the tragic shooting deaths of a reporter and photographer in Virginia by a disgruntled former employee of the TV station for which they worked. During the…
Orlando startup BlurtBox allows customers to complain to restaurants privately, in real time
Think of it as the anti-Yelp. Orlando-based startup BlurtBox will allow diners to file complaints via direct message to restaurant managers in real time, thereby doing away with negative online reviews. The app was developed in the UCF Business Incubation Program by Julien Meyer, a graduate of University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of of…
One writer, four croissants, one mission: Orlando’s best croissant
I woke up this morning as I usually do: with a hankering, followed by a sense of deep sadness. I tweeted from my funk: A couple of minutes later, another Orlando Weekly food writer tweeted back at me: I felt like one of those obnoxious people who thinks Orlando is sub-par in just about every…
This Orlando man attempted to free his SUV from a tow truck like some kind of maniac
With his SUV securely hooked to a tow truck and raised 45 degrees in the air, an Orlando motorist absolutely refused to be towed Tuesday afternoon. The video, posted to YouTube by Brady Miller on August 25, shows the SUV and its driver in a full-on tug-of-war match that lasts a little over a minute…
Watch ‘The End of the Tour’ and chat with Rolling Stone’s David Lipsky at the Enzian this Saturday
If you’ve seen The End of the Tour (or read the Orlando Weekly review), you know that the film is the story of Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky’s (Jesse Eisenberg) five-day interview with novelist David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel). Well, on Saturday, you’ll get a chance to interview the interviewee, as Lipsky will be conducting…
Orlando Weekly turns 25 – here’s a blast from the past
This year, Orlando Weekly turns 25. We’re old enough to rent a car, and if we were a college student, we’d only be able to stay on our parents insurance for one more year. The origin story goes something like this: In 1989, the Toronto Sun Publishing Corp. purchased a group of local publications, including…
Adultery is still against the law in Florida
Hey, so here’s something funny that a commenter reminded us about today – adultery is still a crime in Florida. According to statute 798.01, it’s a second-degree misdemeanor to be Living in Open Adultery: Living in open adultery.—Whoever lives in an open state of adultery shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree,…
Orlando Speaks inspiring for some, not enough for others
Last night’s Orlando Speaks workshop, organized by Orlando Police Chief John Mina and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer with help from the Valencia College Peace and Justice Institute, received mixed reactions from participants. Held at the premium indoor club in the Citrus Bowl, the event was prefaced by a protest by National Action Network Central Florida…
All-you-can-eat mac & cheese at O-Town MacDown, Sept. 12
Ten bucks doesn’t get you much these days (unless you’re heading to one of our favorite budget-friendly lunch spots), but for that one meager bill, you can slurp down all the macaroni and cheese you can handle at the O-Town MacDown on Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Osceola Heritage Park. The event is a competition…
Savage Love (8/26/15)
Please do a public-service announcement about the Ashley Madison hack, and request that NO ONE look up information on ANYONE other than their own spouse. I’m a former AM user. I’ve been married to my wife for 20 years. We met when we were both 20 years old. Seven years ago, I made a selfish…
Lulu Eightball (8/26/15)
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This Modern World (8/26/15)
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Sex, lies and Ashley Madison
Last weekend, State Attorney Jeff Ashton found himself caught with his pants down when a local website, the East Orlando Post, revealed that he was among the many thousands of government workers caught using the infamous cheaters’ website Ashley Madison. Hackers stole a database of 32 million users registered with the site and made it…
Petitioners file appeals opposing planned high-rise near Lake Eola
Petitioners who filed arguments opposing the Orlando Municipal Planning Board’s decision to allow a 28-story high-rise near Lake Eola Park will now have to wait a month for the city and developers’ response. In July, the board approved partial plans for the City Centre project, a 215-unit residential tower near Lake Eola Park, despite protests…
Brix Project brewery opens soon, Green Chile Festival, 5 new restaurant openings and more in this week’s foodie news
Raglan Road chef Kevin Dundon has introduced a new menu featuring sustainable seafood from Port Canaveral’s Wild Ocean Seafood Market. The new dishes include “Whiskey in a Jar,” featuring citrus-poached shrimp in a whiskey-spiked Marie Rose sauce; “El Niño,” pan-roasted shrimp over polenta in a spiced bean piperade; and “The Pale,” shrimp and clams with…
Craving a sugar rush? Look no further than this trio of Orlando sweet shoppes
The injection of Asian popular culture into this city’s bloodstream has resulted in a populace yearning for deeper glimpses into its kaleidoscope of whimsical animations; enraptured by its cutely sexy teen pop stars; and thirsting to experience the range of its sweet, milky, multiflavored treats. Boy Kong’s fabulous Chinese zodiac mural, emblazoned on the walls…
Machine Gun Kelly turns his angry, ostracized youth into spotlight-bending talent
He’s rap’s punk-rock gutter-rat outcast and rebellious survivor. Machine Gun Kelly lives on the edge of so many boundaries he’s begun to embody a strange universality. It’s part of his live-instrumentation hip-hop eclecticism, in step with the shuffle tastes of the iPod generation. MGK arrived early, the kid off by his lonesome, headphones soundtracking a…
Picks This Week: Dex Romweber, the Good Life and more
The New Sam Rivers’ Rivbea Orchestra Did you get worked up when Sam Rivers’ estate sale happened last weekend? Work out your feelings by stewing in his music, revived at the end of every month at Will’s Pub. 9 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26, at Will’s Pub, $7-$10 John Waite The lead singer of popular ’70s-’80s…
The art of ‘Journeys Into the Mind’ brings relief from the mundane world
The Rogers Building, glossy and green as a fresh Brussels sprout, anchors the downtown corner of Pine Street and Magnolia Avenue. Inside, modernism’s cooking, with five local artists serving up abstract expressionism, alive and well in this age of anything goes. Cicero Greathouse, Nancy Jay, Audrey Phillips, Jackie Otto-Miller and Chris Robb each contribute emotional…
Clandestine Arts’ production of ‘Carrie: The Musical’ punches above its weight class
Theater can be many things – comforting, challenging, even confounding – but I prefer it when it’s dangerous. Producer-director Derek Critzer shares that sentiment: “I love weird, I love edgy, I love the punk-y,” the founder of Clandestine Arts recently told me. His attraction to the extreme has been demonstrated in unconventional stagings of Rent,…
Opening in Orlando: The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Regression, War Room, We Are Your Friends
The Diary of a Teenage Girl This week’s Kristen Wiig arthouse flick casts our favorite Target lady emeritus as a negligent mother in 1970s San Francisco. But the movie is actually the story of her daughter (Bel Powley), a 15-year-old who plows through enough sexual encounters to give even Jared Fogle the sweats. Powley is…
Despite its cultural bias, No Escape starring Owen Wilson is an entertaining thriller
If you took No Escape for a light action movie, something like a flick in which Liam Neeson would beat up villainous cartoon foreigners, you are forgiven. That’s certainly the way the film has been marketed. Plus, it stars Owen Wilson and Lake Bell, comic actors known for lighthearted snark and offhand insouciance. What else could…
This Little Underground: Moon Jelly trips out the In-Between Series
In the daring show spirit of the In-Between Series which has sometimes ventured beyond just sound, Orlando freaks Moon Jelly (Aug. 17, Gallery at Avalon Island) pushed the sensory envelope even further by creating an experience involving diffraction glasses, which I half thought was a joke when I read it on the Facebook invite. Like…
Free Will Astrology (8/26/15)
ARIES (March 21-April 19) You like to run ahead of the pack. You prefer to show people the way, to set the pace. It’s cleaner that way, right? There’s less risk you will be caught up in the messy details of everyday compromise. But I suspect that the time is right for you to try…
Gimme Shelter (8/26/15)
Meet Luna! This adorable 2-year-old girlm who enjoys exploring in the play yard, was recently found as a stray at the intersection of Powers Drive and Sunshine Street. She’s a little shy, but once she gets to know you she enjoys attention and being petted. She’s a calm girl who can’t wait to find a…
